By Allen Voivod
The Barbie Inspiring Women series pays tribute to the incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules, and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before. We're thrilled to start this new year with a doll that celebrates Ida B. Wells, a groundbreaking investigative journalist, champion of civil rights, and advocate for women's suffrage.
Today, we're excited to announce that the Ida B. Wells Barbie Inspiring Women Doll has arrived in the Mattel Creations online shop! This is a Black Label Doll, available for $35, with a 3-doll purchase limit.
Being a successful journalist, activist and advocate was just the beginning of Wells’ accomplishments "Every single one of Ida's accomplishments is impressive," says Senior Designer Linda Jiang, who led the Barbie team in creating our latest Inspiring Women doll. "Ida wore so many hats in her lifetime – she was a teacher, an activist, a suffragist, a mother, a newspaper editor, an investigative journalist, and an organizer who looked out for her community. Ida approached her work with courage, strength, determination, and love. The legacy she created continues to inspire and influence us all today."
In addition to co-founding the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Wells was the co-owner and editor of the Memphis Free Speech, where she courageously wrote about inequality affecting African-Americans. No copy of the Memphis Free Speech is known to exist, but our team designed one to include with the doll. "Since Ida was a journalist, activist, and researcher who helped shine a spotlight on civil injustice and helped found the NAACP, it made the most sense from a storytelling aspect to make sure she held the paper in her hands," Package Design Director Suzanna Lakatos adds. "It’s such a wonderful pose and strong way to help portray who she is."
Designing a doll like this portrays a person at a moment in time, and the packaging design portrays not only the doll in the moment, but also has the opportunity to explore the breadth and scope of a person's life. Addressing that point, Suzanna says her team used "insert graphics that help transport you back into time, where we can see her actively in a space that gives context to her career and achievements."
The doll uses the Made to Move petite doll body for out-of-the-box posing, and our efforts to be historically faithful extend to her attire as well. "I designed the fashion for this doll by taking inspiration from all of the photographs of Ida I could find on the internet, and of fashion during that era," Linda says. "I specifically focused on fashion during the 1890s, as this was a significant decade of her life – this was when she dedicated all her time to writing articles and focusing her work on civil rights for African Americans." The result is a beautiful traditional blue dress with lace details at the bodice, collar, and waist."
That attention to detail and extensive research also applies to the set designs and photo shoots. "When approaching a photoshoot for a historical doll, we gather as much reference from the set time period as possible," says Photographer Jason Tidwell. "The goal is always to make the images as realistic as possible. We’re not necessarily trying to re-create an already iconic photo, but to spark a memory that evokes a feeling that will take the viewer back to a specific time or event in history. This is achieved by making the photo-set and lighting as relatable to the original inspiration. If something is off, the image won’t seem life-like."
This celebration of Ida B. Wells not only makes a great gift for Barbie collectors, it's also a motivating reminder of Ida B. Wells’ courageous activism and remarkable accomplishments. She committed her life to realizing a vision of racial and gender equality for future generations. We're proud to honor her with the Ida B. Wells Barbie Inspiring Women Doll, available right now in our online shop.
©The Ida B. Wells Memorial Foundation, all rights reserved.
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